After Effects
by echoingsilhouette
Summary: Damon and Elena are both in high school, while for Damon its a cake walk, its more the opposite for Elena. Damon is the king, he has everything he wants and more. Elena has nothing and gets bullied by none other than Damon himself. However, Damon still has a heart so what will he do when the bullying starts to go a little too far? *Later chapters may start to get darker*
1. Chapter 1

_*Beep, beep, beep*_

The annoying, persistent sound of her alarm woke her and she sighed angrily about having to suffer through another day of high school.

High school. The best four years of your life.

That is, if you're either sexy, rich, outspoken, or athletic. Also what some teachers might like to say 'involved'. If you didn't fit into any of those categories you were screwed and although there were only four categories, somehow everyone else seemed to fit into at least one. Elena, however, did not.

She wasn't saying she was ugly, she considered herself about average, a little smaller than the other girls, but had clear skin and nice hair. Yes, she had braces, but those were only temporary, but she still knew she was for sure not the sexy type. While other girls wore tank tops, Elena wore one of her dad's baggy t-shirts, while others dressed in short-shorts, Elena wore yoga capris. No makeup ever, her parents would interrogate her if they saw her wearing even chapstick, and nothing flashy.

Her and her family certainly weren't rich. The seven of them, Elena, her mom and dad, and her older brothers, Matt, Tyler, Jeremy, and Alaric, all lived in one house and although Elena had her own room since she was the only girl, the boys had to share. It wasn't like they were poor, but they all knew the difference between what they needed and what they wanted.

The last word anybody would ever use to describe Elena would be outspoken. She was so shy, having trouble making eye contact and fidgeting when anyone besides her family would talk to her. She was the girl who would spend her friday nights curled up on the sofa reading a book rather than out partying. During class presentations she would talk so quietly and look nowhere else but her notes, much to her teacher's displeasure.

Athletic? Elena? No way in hell. She had always been clumsy, half the reason she never wore heels, the other because they were uncomfortable. Not only that and the complete lack of talent in any sport, but she also hated them. She thought it was gross, running around, getting all sweaty and getting nothing out of it except burning some energy, and maybe a more fit body, but still. Later in life, when starting an actual career, none of that would matter. Knowledge was her sport, and she was proud of her straight As. She believed dedicating your time to education versus sports would benefit you much better in the long run.

Unfortunately, none of her other classmates saw it like that.

Elena rolled off her bed, struggling to keep her eyes open, she was one of those people who had a hard time shaking off sleep.

She walked over to look at herself in her mirror behind her door and consider what she should wear. She rubbed her eyes, which were still half closed, with her fists and sighed when she realized she hadn't hit puberty over night and her breasts were still training bra size with no curves whatsoever, still looking like a skinny ten year old versus the sixteen year old she actually was. She was dressed in a torn up t-shirt that fit her more like a dress with baggy yoga pants on underneath. Her long, dark hair was sticking up in random places and she worried about the battle she would have to face with her hairbrush in the near future. Maybe it would be easier to just tie it up in a pony.

She gave herself one last glance, then walked over to her closet to get dressed.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

 _*Cause I got a really big team_

 _And they need some really big rings_

 _They need some really nice things_

 _Better be coming with no strings*_

Suddenly the music cut off as Damon was finishing up on his bench press workout with his little bro, Stefan. He set the bar down and sat up to see who had interrupted.

"Damon! Stefan! I called you boys a hundred times! It's time to get your butts to school, I don't want you to be late!"

"Sure, mom." Him and Stefan replied at the same time as they got up to take a quick shower and change out of their workout clothes.

Once Damon reached his bedroom, he stopped to give himself a look in his mirror. He smiled. He looked good. He had the most ripped muscles in his whole year and his hair was shaggy and soft, all the girls loved to rub their hands through it while they kissed and pull at it while they fucked. His smile was one of a model. It could be a devilish smile or a naughty, flirtatious smirk. His eyes were a rare kind of blue, like ice, and one look from them had girls begging him to just take them. Sometimes he did. He laughed internally at the thought.

The Salvatore boys were good looking, there was no doubt about it.

Excited to start the day and show himself off to the rest of his peers, he quickly jumped into the shower.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

Once he pulled his blue camero into the parking lot with Stefan in the passenger right beside him, he felt that swell of pride and power that filled him every time he pulled into school. He loved it here. He was a king and the school was his kingdom.

He parked the car and got out slower than most for added effect and he loved how without even saying a word he had everyone's attention. He smiled and waved at a few of his football teammates and winked at some of the girls who all blushed in response, however, he was heading to his girlfriend, the cheerleader captain of course, Caroline Forbes. Although the two slept around on each other a lot, which they both knew the other did, they still called each other boyfriend and girlfriend, mainly because no matter what guy Care went with or what girl Damon hooked up with, the sex was best with someone else more experienced, such as themselves. And not to mention the fact they made the sexiest couple in the school. Caroline had the blonde, curly hair which was cut just right to notice all her gorgeous facial features, as well as the blue eyes, not as blue as Damon's, but still. She had curves so sharp, you could get whiplash and her full breasts were to die for.

Today she was wearing a black, spaghetti strapped tank top which showed an incredible amount of cleavage, as well as light colored short-short jeans which you could most likely see her thong through since they were as tight and about as short as regular underwear. All of this was complemented with a pair of white allstar Adidas.

Damon smiled, proud that she was his and she smiled back, obviously feeling the same.

Right when Damon was about to reach her and pull her into a deep kiss that both the male and female population would later fantasize about under the covers he was hit hard and fell to the ground along with what felt like a bike and a small little body sprawled out on his chest.

"What the fuck!?" He said, angrily.

"Get the fuck off me!" He shoved whoever had fallen on him harshly, hearing a small yelp after he did so.

He stood up quickly and looked down to see who had run into him.

It was Elena Gilbert. Of course. The stupid little bitch she was. Her wide brown eyes were staring up at him, frightened and he noticed that her knee was scraped and bleeding.

"Of course it's you. The school's worthless clutz. You can't walk, can't run, and now you can't even ride a fucking bike!" Caroline declared angrily. The other students who were circling them, watching the scene, started laughing.

"Seriously you stupid bitch, what the fuck is wrong with you? Can't you get anything right."

Before Elena even had the chance to apologize, Caroline roughly pushed her back to the ground. Tears welled in her eyes and she internally begged herself not to cry.

' _Not here, not now! It'll only make it worse!'_ Elena thought.

"Hey! Stupid ass twig, apologize!" Caroline growled.

"I'm sorry." Elena whimpered, looking into Damon's eyes, pleading with him to show some mercy.

"Sorry for what." Completely unaffected by her desperate eyes, his voice was condescending and he didn't say it like a question.

"Sorry for running into you?" She was nervous how she should answer, how to avoid the most conflict.

"But that isn't the only thing you have to apologize for, is it?" He smirked at her in a devilish way and she had no idea what he was talking about, but she felt her hands start to shake as she stayed still on the ground, not daring to stand up.

"Shouldn't you apologize for being such a mistake? I mean who here has been annoyed by this mistake? Raise your hand!"

Everyone raised their hand. Literally everyone. That was the last straw and like a dam bursting free, the tears ran down her cheeks fast and hot while sobs that she was trying hard to silence shook her shoulders and tumbled out of her mouth. Her head was down and her eyes were closed, wishing she could just disappear.

It amazed him how pathetic she looked, sitting on the ground with her bleeding knee, tears running down her face, making her eyes all puffy, while sobs that got louder along with the jeering laughter made her whole tiny, little body shake. She just made it so easy. Her hands went up to cover her ears as the laughter just continued to get louder.

Damon, starting to get bored with the crying Elena scene which happened pretty much daily, smirked his signature smirk while walking away coolly.

Elena sat there, hands now over her ears, crying, until the bell rang signalling that class had started. All the other students scampered off and Elena waited an extra minute to make sure everyone was gone. She had to go to the nurse to get a band aid for her knee and clean up the blood that had streamed down her leg. The nurse would excuse her tardiness and give her a pass to class as well.

She got up and grabbed her bike, limping slightly as she headed towards the bike rack. She had stopped crying, but still had some tears in her eyes and running down her cheeks which she wiped at with the back of her hands. Honestly, it wasn't even that bad this time.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

It was lunchtime now, sixth period, and Damon was sitting at a large table overflowing with all his popular friends, including his brother Stefan, his girlfriend Caroline who he currently had his arm around, as well as majority of the football team and cheerleaders. Him and Care sat in the very front of the table and while he ate a poor school excuse of a hotdog filled with toppings, Caroline drank nothing but a diet coke, listening to one of her good friends, Bonnie, get her updated on all the gossip.

"Oh my God, Care, Elena got called out by Mrs. Claire to write the answer to a question on the board and she was so freaked that she was shaking so bad she couldn't even fucking write! Whatever the hell she wrote came out like super scratchy and shaky that no one could even read it and even the teacher couldn't help but laugh at her! I seriously don't know what her problem is! It's not like she was asking her to disarm a bomb, it was just to answer and write down one fucking question! She's just so annoying."

"She seriously is though. And what's with the clothes she wears? Like today, she literally has on a shirt that goes down to like mid thigh! My shorts don't even go down that low! She's such a fucking prude. You know, I honestly wouldn't even be surprised if she didn't know what sex was yet."

"Well, why don't you ask her? She's getting out of the lunch line right now."

Both girls eyes lit up with an evil glint, demonic grins spreading across their faces.

Without saying another word they both got up and started walking towards Elena who was heading to her usual lunch table in the back corner where she would sit by herself and read more than eat.

Once everyone saw who Caroline and Bonnie were heading for, nearly all conversation stopped. Elena, noticing the sudden silence, looked around to see her personal terrorists heading straight towards her, their blue and green eyes never wavering from her. Elena could feel the tension rising in her body, her throat suddenly stopped working and her tongue felt extremely dry. She needed to get out of here. But she had nowhere to run! She couldn't just leave the cafeteria!

Elena turned her head and kept her eyes down on her tray, speed walking towards her table. Maybe they weren't actually headed for her. Maybe once they see her head down they'll know she won't do anything to harm them or their reputation. Maybe-

"Elena." The blonde beauty's voice lunged at Elena while her hand slapped the table top to scare her even more.

Slowly she looked up, seeing Bonnie and Caroline standing in front of her, their postures intimidating and threatening, making Elena want to just disappear.

"Hi." She whispered, avoiding eye contact at all costs, that could appear as challenging and challenging two girls bigger and with more backup than her was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you some questions, you know, girl to girl questions." Even though everyone was silent and listening to the point they could have heard Caroline even if she whispered, she still spoke in an incredibly loud voice.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend, Elena?" Bonnie said while Caroline let out a snort, knowing the answer already.

"No." Elena's voice was so quiet, it was unlikely anyone even heard her, but they didn't need to to know what her answer was.

Immediately the cafeteria buzzed with giggles and fake gasps.

"So, you only do one night stands then? Friends with benefits? Fuck buddies? You're that kind of girl?" Again it was Bonnie who had spoken.

"No." This time Elena's voice was slightly louder due to the disgust and shock she felt of just the idea of her doing that.

"Well then who do you have sex with? Do you just get off with a vibrator?"

Everyone's laughs echoed as if Bonnie had said something incredibly funny. Elena didn't even need to look up to see the sneer on her face.

She didn't answer, just focused intensly on her tray.

"Answer my friend you bitch." Caroline said.

She grabbed a handful of Elena's hair, yanking her head backward so she was looking up at Bonnie's face, eliciting a tiny scream out of Elena.

Now she was scared. What Caroline was doing right now was physical. So far none of them had ever actually touched her with the exception of a small shove or push, but normally they just called her names and said insulting things, but they never once had done something like this. This was new.

The cafeteria had fallen silent, holding their breath. Even Bonnie looked shocked at what Caroline was doing. She had pulled Elena's hair! Physically pulled it! What will she do next?!

"Please." Elena whimpered.

"Stupid bitch!"

There was a loud crack, similar to the shot heard around the world, it rang throughout the cafeteria and even when it had fallen back to silence, this crack having only lasted a millisecond, it still rung in everyone's ears. By the end of the day this crack would be the most talked about thing among the students, everyone would know what had happened. Everyone would know that Caroline Forbes had slapped Elena Gilbert. Hard.

Everyone's eyes, including Caroline's and Elena's were focused on Caroline's still raised hand, slightly red due to how hard she had hit her. Nobody knew how to react.

Finally Caroline broke the silence, unsure whether the attention she was getting was good or bad.

"Whatever, not even worth our time. Let's go, Bonnie."

The two headed back to their lunch table and once they sat down the noise level in the cafeteria reached an all time high. Conversation rotating around what just went down.

Elena continued to sit there in silence, her hand resting on her stinging cheek. Nobody came up to ask if she was okay. Nobody gave her a sympathetic glance, in fact the only glances she was getting where ones you would give to a strange new animal at the zoo.

Elena slowly stood up, leaving her tray behind, slowly walking towards the doors out into the hallway.

Damon stared at her, watching her leave, her hand resting on her red cheek. Everyone at his table had gone back to talking, now louder than before. He heard someone, didn't know who, congratulate Caroline, saying "she did the right thing" and "that frigid bitch deserved it".

It made Damon sick.

Yes, he made fun of Elena all the time, and no, he never felt bad for her before. Ever. He would even laugh when she would start crying. But his father had been physically abusive, smacking Damon, his brother, and their mom around just because they were smaller than him. Needless to say, because of this, Damon hated violence. And right now, just hearing Caroline gloat about how hard she had hit Elena made him cringe. He quickly stood up and left.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

"Elena! What are you doing home?! School doesn't get out for another two hours!" Her mom said, startled to see her daughter stumble into their house while school was still going on.

Elena tried to quickly dart into her room, her straight long brown hair covering her face and most importantly, her now bruised cheek. However, if Miranda knew one thing it was how to read her children, like a goddamn book, and Elena would never leave school early unless something serious had happened and Miranda had suspicion that she might be able to find out what if she could just see her face.

"Elena! Look at me!" Her mother moved quickly to block Elena from going up the stairs.

Elena still had her head down and her hair covering her face like a shield. Miranda reached out to gently lift Elena's face to her own.

"Oh sweetheart! What happened?!" Her mother stroked the bruise gently as Elena started to let the tears fall.

"Mommy, they're just so mean." Elena fell into her mother's embrace, gripping the back of her shirt in tight fists as sobs worked their way out of her throat.

Her mother held her back just as tightly, rubbing soothing circles on her back while whispering sweet nothings in her ear to try and get her to calm down.

"Come on, baby girl. Why don't you go lay down and rest for a little bit. I'll get you some ice and maybe I can make some cookies, ok?" She gently led Elena to the couch and layed her down, pulling a blanket over her and brushing the streaks of tears away.

She wanted to know what happened, to know who had hurt her precious little girl and whose parent was going to get a not so very nice phone call. But she couldn't right now. She knew her daughter better than anyone else and knew she was too upset right now to talk about it and the best way to calm her down would be a nice nap on the sofa.

She stood up to get some ice and sure enough when she came back Elena was sound asleep. She gently laid the wrapped up ice on her cheek while trying to hold back tears of her own. Her children were her world and she felt there pain which she always tried so hard to protect them from. But like her husband always told her, you can't always be there.

Still. She didn't understand how someone could hurt her Elena. Elena was the sweetest girl. She was always smiling and laughing and had such a thirst for knowledge, it amazed her. And how her big brown eyes would light up whenever she was informing the family at dinner about something new she had learned. Her laugh was incredibly goofy and contagious. It bubbled out of her and came with such an adorable grin.

All of her children were sweet, caring individuals, something that made Miranda very proud, but this fact just made it harder for her to grasp the idea of someone harming them.

Elena let out an adorable sigh as she curled up into a little ball. Miranda sighed as well, gently kissed her on her forehead and then got up to make some cookies to have ready for when she woke up.

 **A/N: Hey guys! So this is my first fanfic and I've been working on this chapter for a while, rereading it, fixing it, etc. and I had had part of the next chapter ready too since my original goal was to have at least three chapters ready before I posted this. However, the little I had for the next chapter sucked and I have no idea what to do. So, I was hoping you guys could give me some advice on what to include in the next chapter. Also, something you might want to know, it does take me a while before a new chapter is ready (this is for this fanfic and future ones as well) so I won't be able to post chapters super frequently and because of school and work, the chapters will not be posted like at a certain time or after a certain amount of time and I know that is annoying (I read fanfiction too) but one thing I can promise you is that I am sticking with this story all the way through, so you do not have to worry about not having an ending. And yeah. That's pretty much it for now. I hope you enjoyed reading and please don't forget to leave suggestions for the next chapter! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just really quick Elena, Damon, and Caroline are all juniors, Stefan is a sophomore, and Jeremy is a senior. Also, sorry for taking so long to update, I was planning on updating last weekend but our wifi went down and then right after we got it working we went on vacation. I'm so sorry it took so long. Also I'm hopefully gonna be updating more often as well as coming out with some new stories. Now that school is getting closer to an end (thank God) I'm having more inspiration;) Once again, super sorry it took so long but I really hope you enjoy, thank you for reading!**

"God you have no idea how much I needed this." Damon said as one of his best friends, Enzo, gave him a hand up after he had been tackled to the ground during football practice.

"You're a beast Damon." Enzo said with a chuckle.

Damon laughed along as the two headed back to the benches to take a break. As they walked past, other students whispered and stared, very obviously talking about him, or more specifically what his girlfriend had done today.

And that's one of the reasons why Enzo was his best friend. He literally didn't give a shit. Literally. About anything. He just did as he pleased and was a real live-in-the-moment type of guy. And he definitely didn't do drama. Or anything 'negative' really. He could be a little crazy, but he was a good guy.

The pair walked past a couple of cheerleaders who were whispering in a way that made sure Damon heard. Enzo noticed the flash of concern on Damon's face as yet another person mentioned what happened during lunch.

"Hm, someone seems abnormally popular today."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Damon said with a sly grin.

Despite Enzo not having lunch with them, instead meeting with a tutor to help his grades, and despite that he didn't listen to drama, let alone spread it, he still heard it and knew what had happened at lunch. Even though it had only happened a few hours ago, the entire school's population of about 4,000 students, most certainly all knew the gory details.

"Mate, let me just give you some advice, I don't think cheerleaders should be your main concern."

Damon looked at him confused, what the hell was he talking about? Enzo held a smug grin on his face and pointed his finger to the school exit where a very pissed off Gilbert brother was heading straight towards them.

Shit. He forgot about Jeremy.

"Good luck mate." Enzo whispered in his ear, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder, but Damon didn't even notice. His face was poker straight but internally he was terrified.

The Gilbert family was strange. Elena was the size of a toothpick while her older brothers were the size of boulders. Each and every one of them were legends at the school as star football players, Jeremy being no exception. Another popular theme among the Gilbert brothers was that no one messed with Elena. Absolutely noone. And the only reason they hadn't kicked Damon's ass yet was because he had the protection of the years as he liked to call it. What that meant was that although Damon was popular amongst all years, majority of his drama, including picking on Elena, stayed safely within his junior class where the only Gilbert was Elena herself, but he should've known that something as big as this was going to spread like the plaque and reach all years. Not even that though, but the fact that after school the football players went home to eat and do homework and then had practice later and most likely when Jeremy went home he must had seen the bruise that was most likely taking residence on Elena's otherwise clean face.

"You fucking asshole." Was the last thing Damon heard before it all went black.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

"I don't want to talk about it." Elena said, stuffing another cookie into her mouth, leaning against the counter while holding on icepack to her slightly swollen eye.

"That was just Jeremy, just wait till dad sees this." Ric said, elbows on the counter next to his sister, shoving two cookies into his mouth at once, crumbs falling on the counter like raindrops.

"You're so annoying."

"I'm so right."

Before Elena could tell him to just leave her alone the phone started ringing, interrupting their conversation.

"Mom, the phones ringing!" They shouted in sync.

Their mother came scrambling into the room, looking frantic as she always did whenever the phone rang, fixing her hair and face as if they could see her.

"And you two couldn't answer it?"

"Too far." Ric responded, earning a small laugh from Elena.

Miranda gave them an annoyed look before answering the phone.

As the phone conversation began, Alaric and Elena turned back to the cookies, which were already half gone.

"I hope Jeremy kicked his ass."

"Damon didn't do anything."

"Ok, so maybe he never actually physically hurt you, but I know he had to have teased you in the past, along with his slutty girlfriend."

"How would you know? You aren't even in high school anymore."

"Because she wouldn't just walk up and hit you for no reason at all or no previous sign that she enjoyed seeing you in pain." His anger was more than evident but Elena wasn't surprised.

She loved her brothers who had always been her protectors and had always done a fine job at it, but once Elena got to high school she wanted to take care of herself. On her own. Plus, their constant need to defend her could get suffocating at times and she didn't want to be a burden that they constantly needed to fret about.

That's why she hated this bruise so much. These past couple years of hell she had managed to hide the fact that she was being tormented and tortured everyday of her high school life, if they had known then they would also know she had failed, that she couldn't take care of herself. Not only that, but she knew they would find some way to put the blame on themselves, they would think they should've known better to let her do her own thing and she wanted her brothers to be proud of her, to see her as their badass little sister who could hold her own.

But Caroline Forbes had to go and ruin it. Giving her a bruise that took up most of her cheek and even swelled up part of her eye. Now her failure was marked on her cheek like a tattoo, laying out in the open for all to see that she was just as weak as they thought. Just as pathetic and defenseless and needed constant care and protection 24/7.

When her mother had asked after her nap and her brothers had each given her an interrogation trying to figure out who had done it, she didn't say a word. As much as she hated Caroline and Damon this wasn't really their fault. People don't just pick on people for no reason, she must have done something. And not even that, but she could've easily stood up for herself, tried to stop Caroline's hand. Even if it had ended in a fight, it would've been better than doing nothing. Instead she had just sat there with her head down like some defenseless baby.

"Well, that was the school saying I need to go get Jeremy immediately. He knocked Damon Salvatore out cold." Her voice had fake disapproval that might have been a little more convincing if she wasn't grinning as well.

Elena groaned. If Jeremy, a senior knew, then everyone knew, and probably more than just what happened in the lunchroom if he went after Damon.

Alaric started clapping beside her and noticed her mother mouth the words 'watch her' to Ric when she thought she wasn't looking, which assured Elena's guess that they would see her as defenseless and pathetic once again.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

"Damon Salvatore! How could you?!" His mother's voice ached with disappointment and it pained him to see tears in her eyes.

"After everything we went through with your father… You saw! You know first hand how much it hurts when someone is constantly putting you down and calling you names!"

She was talking about his father of course, Giuseppe, who had verbally and physically abused the three of them till about when Damon reached middle school where his dad had tried to drive home drunk and instead ended up dead at the bottom of a river. Growing up, Damon remembered always thinking how strange it was that the words his father said hurt more than his fist or belt ever did, but him saying cruel things was in no way shape or form similar to his father. Giuseppe was his dad! He was supposed to care and look after him and love him so of course it hurt Damon terribly when he said cruel things such as calling him worthless and a mistake. But him and Elena were just classmates, his words shouldn't have any effect over her at all and if they did, well, it's not his fault she's so self-conscious.

"Are you even listening to me? Damon… I raised you better than that…"

"Actually, mom, no you didn't. You should've figured that raising your son around an abusive asshole would result in an abusive asshole son! You should've fucking figured that apple doesn't fall far from the goddamn tree! You know, I don't know why you won't just say it already. Say it! Tell me how much I remind you of him!" After waking up in the hospital with his eye swollen shut he had wanted nothing more than peace and quiet. Instead he got his mom badgering in his ear for at least an hour indirectly reminding him how much he reminds her of Giuseppe. He was getting sick of it.

"Damon…" She opened her mouth as if she was about to say more, but closed it, unsure of how to properly tell her son how she never saw him as Giuseppe. How she saw him as a glowing angel whose light was what kept her going through the worst of Giuseppe's beatings and whose light never faded, even after all he's been through. She couldn't find the words to explain to him how proud she made him everyday and how much she loved him. And she couldn't find the words to tell him how disappointed she was that he had lost some of his light just to hurt someone else.

Damon let out a lonesome laugh, mistaking her lack of words as confirmation as to what he just said.

"Can we just go home? I'm tired."

"No." The sudden strength in Lilly's voice surprised them both and caught Damon's attention.

"Damon Salvatore, I love you with my whole life and the only thing you have in common with your father is your last name, but let me tell you, what you did to that girl was wrong. Whether she was asking for it or not, you. Don't. Hurt. People. Now, when I was talking with Miranda about what happened I told her to expect you to come by and apologize to Elena yourself. She gave me her address and we will be stopping there on our way home."

No way. No way in hell did she seriously expect him to apologize to Elena? What if someone saw? God, he would look so stupid! And he was sure it would most likely embarrass Elena as much as him. Not only that, but it'd be a fake ass apology which would make this whole thing pointless.

Damon was about to refuse, but saw the look in his mother's eyes and remembered the disappointment he had seen when she had walked back into his hospital room after hearing what happened from Miranda. As much of a pointless idea it was, if it would make his mom happy, he'd do it.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

 _*Ding Dong*_

Damon heard the doorbell go off inside the house and he mentally prepared himself for what he was going to say to make this as less awkward as possible, but he already knew it would be awkward as hell. It was Elena.

When they had pulled into the driveway, he couldn't help but grimace at the house.

When Giuseppe had died he had left his entire fortunately to Lilly, Damon, and Stefan so of course they lived in one of the nicest houses in the town. Big enough to fit a family of twelve and incredibly beautiful and historic. Many people passing through Mystic Falls would even stop and take pictures or ask if they could look inside since it was the oldest house in town and Lilly had decided to keep the interior the same it had been when they first moved in.

However, the Gilbert house was barely a house, at least compared to his. He couldn't believe that seven people lived here. The home was two stories and looked worn down and cramped. Outside grass flourished in some areas while died in others. Weeds sprouted out randomly and the flower bed in front of the main window was atrocious. It looked as though whoever had made it had just gathered as many random flower seeds as they could and put them in as many random places they could find, no specific order or arrangement at all, completly unlike Damon's garden at home which had each type of flower in it's own section, in it's own spot, and with a wide amount of room to flourish and grow along with the other same type of flowers planted nearby. The wooden stairs leading up to the cracked door were bent and misshapen, sharp splinters sticking up in random places. To Damon, it looked like a wannabe house that was actually a shed.

Damon was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts to the door opening and he couldn't help feel slight relief when he saw Miranda's kind face, even though it was clear known of that kindness was directed towards him.

"Hi Miranda. I hope we aren't intruding, but Damon needs to apologize."

"No, of course not, you're fine. I'll go grab Elena."

Miranda turned into the house to call out to Elena. Soon enough he heard light footsteps walking towards the door.

"What is it?" Elena had asked, but once she opened the door and saw Damon she nearly froze but then quickly looked down in embarrassment, slightly annoyed that her mom hadn't warned her who exactly it was at the door.

Damon however froze for a completely different reason, his eyes transfixed on her bruise. Had Caroline really hit her that hard? The bruise was huge and took up nearly the whole left side of her face. It was dark purple and he could see the swelling by her eye.

"Hi Elena, I'm Lilly, Damon's mother and we just wanted to stop by because he has something to say to you."

Elena was looking down in complete humiliation. Her face was turning red and she was cursing her mother for thinking this was a good idea. Her and Damon weren't children anymore. They were in high school. Coming to the others house to apologize because their mom had told them so was incredibly immature and meaningless and only made it worse for both of them. If Damon was really sorry he would've come here on his own or said something during school. The only reason he was here right now was because his mom made him and the only reason Elena hadn't hid under her bed till he left was because her mom was making her hear him out. It was a cruel and unusual punishment and should be qualified as child abuse.

"Um… She hit you really hard?" It was a statement yet it had come out as more of a question and Elena had trouble believing that he almost sounded guilty? However, she wasn't quite sure how to respond to his question. Yeah, she had hit her hard. So hard it still burned even after holding ice to it and taking a nap.

"Damon." His mother growled low enough for only him to hear, reminding him of what he was actually supposed to say.

"Sorry, I mean sorry for asking that, it was a… dumb question… and um, obviously, sorry for what happened and everything…"

The humility the both of them felt was enough to cover the entire state of Virginia. Why did their parents think this would help anything?

"Mom! Can you make more cookies! Elena ate them all!" Tyler shouted from the kitchen, knowing full well what was happening on their doorstep.

"Oh my God." Elena mumbled, putting her hand to her forehead. She was going to kill them in their sleep.

Damon wasn't sure whether to laugh or not, her brother's pleading yell for more cookies sliced through the awkwardness in a way that left room for either more awkwardness or laughter. However, with both the mother's right there and Elena's clear embarrassment as well as his own he figured now wouldn't be the best time. Thankfully though, both Miranda and Lilly shared a motherly laugh, the kind that only mothers do to show they relate in some way with whatever situation the other mother is going through.

"Damon, we appreciate you coming over and apologizing and Lilly it was nice to see you again, but I'm afraid I have to go."

"A mother's work is never done." Lilly said with a gentle laugh.

"Truest statement I've ever heard."

"Elena, I hope things get better and don't be afraid to let someone know if Damon or Caroline mess with you again."

"Yeah, ok." Elena said, her voice a shy mumble followed by an unsure grin.

"Bye Lena." Damon said, confusing them both.

"Bye Damon." Her smile towards him this time was much more certain and Damon actually found it somewhat… sweet.


	3. Chapter 3

"Get up now Elena. I was nice and let you stay home for a day, but this is silly. Get up!"

Elena's face was buried in her pillows which her mom was aggressively trying to pull out from under her. Her blankets were already all over the floor and Elena felt like she wanted to die. School was the last place she wanted to be right now. Her cheek hurt worse then ever and she knew about the drama and unwanted attention she would surely get as soon as she walked through the doors.

"Mom! You don't understand! I can not go back to that school!"

"Oh, Elena." Miranda moved to sit on the bed and began to rub Elena's back.

"Are you scared? Is that it? Cause sweetheart-"

"Oh my God no! That's not it at all, everyone is gonna be talking about it and everyone is going to know how pathetic I am." Her voice broke at the end.

"Elena-"

"Just get out! I need to get ready!"

Elena began to usher Miranda out of her room and before she could protest the door was slammed shut in her face.

Once her mom was out, Elena let silent tears fall down her face. She wanted to think and pretend that the real reason for her not wanting to go to school was because of all the gossip, but she knew the real reason. She was scared. She didn't know what Caroline would do next. She loved attention and she sure got a lot of attention when she hit her. What if, in order to get more, she did something worse? Caroline was not fat by any means, actually rather thin, but Elena knew in a fight against her she wouldn't stand a chance.

Her plan for the day was to keep her head down as much as possible and go straight from class to class, no taking time in the hallway or going to the bathroom. Her only concern was the cafeteria. There she was most vulnerable.

A fleeting idea passed through her head that maybe Damon wouldn't let anyone pick on her, but it was fleeting. Just cause his mom made him say sorry didn't mean he actually meant it.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

The ride to the school had been silent. Their dad drove them to school everyday even though both Jeremy and Elena had their license and the school allowed them to park in the parking lot, the family only had one car which Grayson needed for work. Elena had enjoyed the silence, it gave her time to think about what she would do if Caroline confronted her. Her father had been more than upset when he saw the bruise and was about to go out and kill both Damon and Caroline if Miranda hadn't stopped him. But their father wasn't much of a talker, never was, so he simply didn't know what to say. As for Jeremy he had already shared his colorful words and did his little piece on Damon.

They stopped at the school and both said goodbye to their dad and then headed into hell.

As soon as they walked through the doors they had everyone's full attention. Elena self consciously tried to cover her bruise with her hand, noticing that seemed to be what most people were staring at. Jeremy wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him in a protective way.

"If anyone gives you trouble, I'm serious, let me know."

Elena nodded. She normally hated when her brothers fretted over he, but this time she needed it.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

"What are you gonna do next? You know you have to do something!"

Damon tried to block out Bonnie's irritating voice. She was obnoxiously egging Caroline on to do something worse to Elena and it was really pissing him off. He knew if she did anything he'd probably be the one to take the fall for it, the one who'd get beaten up by Jeremy and then forced to apologize to Elena again even though he never touched her while Caroline sat by and revelled in all the attention. She never got in trouble. Her mom was literally the sheriff which meant she could literally get away with murder.

"I don't know Damon, what should we do to that skinny ass bitch?" She looked at him flirtatiously and he had to try his hardest to refrain from rolling his eyes.

"Maybe we should just leave her alone."

Both girls froze at his words and Caroline gave him a look that could kill. She quickly ushered him away from Bonnie where they could be alone.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Damon? Have you turned into a fucking pussy?! Huh?! You get fucking hit once by the Gilbert boy and now what? You're down for the count? You're wussing out? I know you can take more than that. Hell, you're fucking dad gave you more than that!"

"Shut the fuck up Caroline! You don't know fucking shit!"

"Or what?! Are you gonna fucking hit me in the middle of the school fucking hallway?! Try it, Damon! Try! See what fucking happens! Do you not remember who my mom is?!"

"Will you just fucking move!? I'm so fucking over your shit." He tried to walk past her but Caroline blocked his way out.

"Damn, I thought dating you would be the farthest thing from dating a fucking bitch but that's exactly what you are, isn't it Damon?"

He tried to move past her again, his anger rising to an almost uncontrollable level, but she continued to keep him trapped.

"Fine! What do you want Care? You want to see me fucking lose it! Prove that I'm not a little bitch! Well fine! Look, there's Elena right there, alright?! I'll go show you right now."

Elena had her hair in a pony wearing her usual capri yoga pants and a loose shirt that had some logo on it. If Damon hadn't been in his rage filled mind he might've noticed how she had looked up, her face tense, until she saw him and some of that tension seemed to go away.

But he missed it. He was angry and wanted to get it all out and his target was Elena.

He stormed towards her and she froze, nervous again seeing how angry he looked. He got right in her face, knocking the books right out of her hand, sending them sprawling across the floor, cornering her into the lockers.

Her chin quivered and tears sprang into her eyes. She even actually began shaking from fear of what he would do to her. She had never seen him this angry and aggressive. Would he hit her like Caroline? He had to be way stronger so it would hurt a lot more. Hell, one hit from him could kill her! At this she began to cry, eyes desperately searching for a way out.

Damon punched the locker right next to her face and she flinched away.

"What?! You think I'm a pussy! You think I'm a coward! I'm not a fucking coward! I'm a fucking man! I am! You don't have the right to tell me who I fucking am!" He was shouting so close to her face she could feel his spit flying from his mouth.

"I don't! I don't think you're a coward at all! Please Damon!"

But he didn't hear her. Instead he heard his father's voice telling him otherwise. He wasn't in the school anymore, he was at their old house, and he wasn't confronting Elena anymore, he was confronting his father.

"You say I'm nothing?! You think I'm nothing!? You are! How pathetic do you have to be to be hated by everyone who's ever met you! You're the fucking loser not me! I'm better than you! Anyone is better than you and you will never be enough or happy, you'll always be alone cause no one could love a monster." At that closing statement he spat in her face and walked away. Missing Elena's cries and Caroline's sneaky smirk.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

God, today could not get worse. She hadn't been able to stop shaking since Damon yelled at her. She had been so sure he was going to hurt her and every time she turned a corner, heard a sudden noise, or caught anyone staring at her she would be scared. Now all she wanted was to go home but it was pouring rain and as she had heading towards the bus she saw Damon outside and quickly hid in the bathroom until she was sure he had to have left. Unfortunately, she had mistaken when the buses left and they were already long gone by the time she came out. Not only that but her phone had died and it was pouring rain.

The only thing that had gone right today was that the school allowed her to use their phone to call her mom who she had to beg to come get her since her father was still at work which meant he would have to leave early to come get her. Elena didn't feel too bad though, he would've had to leave early anyway since Jeremy would need a ride to football since it was raining.

"Miss, did your parents say when they were going to be here?" The secretary asked in a not so kind voice.

"Um, they should be here soon."

They were taking a while, but she figured it was probably just because of the rain.

"Well, listen, we can't stay here forever."

Elena felt the urge to roll her eyes, she hadn't been waiting that long and was else do secretaries do but watch the kids?

"Yeah, I think they'll be here soon."

"Well you've got another hour and then I'm sorry but you'll just have to leave or wait outside, I just can't keep you here especially unattended."

Elena simply nodded and went back to staring out the window, wishing she could be home already.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

Damon just wanted to get this day over with and craved nothing more than to go home and sleep it off. Today had been a nightmare and the worst part was by far when he had yelled at Elena.

He still couldn't believe he had done that. He had no idea what had gotten into him. Actually, scratch that, Caroline Forbes had gotten into him. She knew just what to say to piss him off and knew just where to steer him to attack Elena like that.

He remembered walking away and reality finally hitting him right as he was about to turn the corner. Suddenly he realized it was Elena who he had yelled at, how scared she had looked and with yet another sudden realization that almost brought him to his knees, he realized she had looked at him the way his mother had looked at their father when he was in a rage. Damon really was just like him. He treated women like shit, acted like everything was fine, let rage get the best of him, and could never bring himself to apologize even though he knew he did wrong. Elena had been shaking from fear, he was pretty sure she had even stopped breathing, and he didn't even think his harsh words, which had been incredibly cruel, where what had brought her to tears, but rather the fear of him hurting her.

Obviously, he had ditched lunch, not wanting to see Caroline ever again or see Elena and remember all his guilt. Instead he had actually gone to the library, which he never thought he would do voluntarily, and enjoyed it. In fact that was probably the highlight of his day.

When the final bell rang he felt an immense sense of joy realizing he could go home until he caught Elena out of the corner of his eye. She hadn't even seen him yet but he realized just how scared she was, she look fucking terrified, wide eyed and frightened. When she saw him her eyes seemed to grow the size of the moon and he noticed how she smoothly headed straight towards the bathroom and he knew it was to avoid him.

Suddenly, going home didn't seem so appealing. He couldn't face his mother without feeling guilty. Instead he headed towards the library where he had began to read Perks Of Being A Wallflower and actually got really into it until the librarian kindly reminded him that he couldn't stay much longer but he could check out the book if he wanted.

So he did and called his mom to come pick him up since football was cancelled due to the rain and was now heading to the exit.

Damon stopped, surprised when he saw Elena sitting on one of the benches waiting as well. She looked tired, but not as fearful as before now that everyone had left. Damon decided to lean against the wall where he was, as much out of sight as possible, he didn't want to scare her off again and wanted to give her the space she needed. He kept his eyes on her, occasionally looking outside for his mom.

She pulled up before Elena's parents did, much to his dismay. He headed towards the door but tried to keep his head down, he didn't look at Elena and basically ran towards his mom's car.

"Hi sweetheart! How was your day? Footballs cancelled so I was thinking maybe we can go see a movie?"

He smiled. Damon had thought for sure he'd feel guilt seeing his mom but instead he felt comfort and peace. He didn't have to worry anymore because he'd knew she could help him through it.

"Sure, mom. What movie?"

As his mom brought up the list of movies that were playing nearby and began to pull out of the school parking lot, Damon looked out his window seeing a black car pull up behind them. The man that got out was dressed in a tux and overweight but clean shaven. He reminded Damon of the man that had picked him and Stefan up when their father had died and mother had finally admitted about the abuse. They had to go into foster care for a few hours since child protective services worried their mother might have been abusive as well. Damon shivered at the memory and then turned back to his mom, not sparing the fat man in the tux a second glance.

 **A/N: So I know it's shorter than usual but I really wanted to get it out there for you guys since it took me forever to update. Also, I've been working on a couple other pieces and I want to get those out there soon. And another thing, I felt this was a good place to end the chapter since things will be getting probably darker from here on out. I really hope you enjoy and I am so sorry for updating so late, I just hate forcing myself to write because then my stories aren't nearly as authentic as they should be. Again I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!:)**


	4. Chapter 4

Everything was moving so fast. It made her feel sick.

Everything was so confusing. She wanted to go home, but at the same time she dreaded it. She knew nothing would ever be the same. But still, being at home with her brothers would beat being stuck in foster care.

She needed to straighten things out in her head. Here where the facts. Their parents had died. Both of them. Coming to pick up Elena. She hated herself for missing her bus over something so dumb as being nervous of a school bully. Since her and Jeremy were legally still children they both were shipped off to foster care. Alaric was working to get custody and was making fine progress, but it was still a long way. Luckily, the counselor said, it was coming to an end, they'd be leaving soon.

If Elena hadn't felt so… sick… this past week she would've been terrified of the foster home. It was overcrowded, messy, and loud. Filled with kids who had been there much longer than her and with much deeper issues. The yelling and shouting that lasted into the night and fights. Constantly. Over everything. Stealing was common as well, Elena's food had been taken very often, if she wasn't sick and had actually had an appetite, she would've been starving. Most left her alone though since she was quiet and stuck to herself and had Jeremy glued to her side the entire time. The only time they weren't together was at night, since the males and females had separate sleeping areas.

Elena wasn't sad. She was just confused. And stressed. The mix of those emotions is what made her sick. Her head hurt and she found herself constantly tired. Somehow everything seemed duller, slower. Before people and life and colors had been vibrant and fast passed, now it all just seemed like a boring movie. She was ready to sleep in her own bed with her teddy bear.

The day her parents died ran through her head on a constant loop. She remembered her mom waking her, getting picked on, again, hiding in the bathroom, when the man came in and took her into his car where Jeremy already was, crying, to tell her that her parents had died in an unfortunate accident. Unfortunate accident. That's what he had called it. Unfortunate was being bullied at school, unfortunate was having her food taken, unfortunate was still being so tiny at her age. Her parents dying in a car crash wasn't unfortunate, it was tragic.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

The funeral was the most boring experience of her life. She felt so sick, she couldn't even cry. It was all just so… typical. White flowers, the 'I'm sorry's, the matching caskets, sappy speeches from random people acting like they actually knew them, the smiling portraits of her parents, and the dull clothing on everyone. Elena had excused herself multiple times to use the bathroom which really meant get a break from all the pointless sympathy. No one questioned it, assuming she was just upset.

The only good part where her brothers. She knew them well enough to tell they were just as disappointed. Funerals like this where meant for people not involved closely with their lives, one-sided family members whom they'd never really gotten the chance to know. Not their parents. Who were multidimensional and loving and imperfect and were here, for them, but now were suddenly gone.

Everyone kept coming up and asking if she was okay. It annoyed her, do they really care? What do they expect her to say other than fine? If she were to explain how sick she felt, all they'd do was say sorry as if it were their fault then walk away and gossip to their friends about poor little Elena the orphan. When her brothers asked it wasn't annoying, she knew they cared and would actually try to help her if she told them the truth, but still she lied to them as well. Whenever anyone would ask she would just respond with an answer as shallow as the question, 'I'm okay.'

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

For some reason she thought her bed would feel different, relieving, but she felt the same and it just felt like a bed. Still, she found it nice to be home again where she could lock herself in her room and just sleep. No extra noise or questions, just herself. Sleep came easy and she slept a lot. It was the only time when she didn't feel so sick.

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

"What about school? You guys need to go back at some point." Alaric stated. "Plus, it might be good for Elena, help get her out of bed for a little while, right?"

"Are you serious? She hates school, it would only make her worse." Jeremy added.

"Well give me some fucking ideas cause I don't know what the fuck to do! She won't eat, she won't talk, she just sleeps! All the time! You know… I'm not supposed to be a parent." His voice breaking at the end.

"Mom would make her go back to school." Matt spoke up.

"If mom were here we wouldn't be having this conversation." With that Jeremy stormed upstairs to his room.

Ric put his head in his hands, he felt a migraine coming on. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to help anyone and as the oldest that was his job. It killed him to see all his siblings hurting and it killed him even more to see them not come to him, like they felt they knew he wouldn't be able to help and they had to fend for themselves.

"Ric, we're here to help you know that right? You aren't the parent, you never will be to us, but you are our older brother which doesn't mean just us leaning on you. It goes both ways. We'll figure this out and help each other together."

"Thanks, Matty."

*TVD*TVD*TVD*

"Hey, Lena, why don't you come downstairs and get some food, okay?"

Alaric gently shook her awake and she glared angrily at him. Sleeping had been so nice and he had woken her up for something she didn't even want.

"I'm not hungry."

"Elena, please eat."

"No." She said stubbornly.

"Well… I'm the adult now and you need to listen to me." It felt strange and foreign to boss his little sister around like she was his daughter.

Elena sat up in bed, rage shaking her. "Fuck off, Ric! Being an adult doesn't mean shit! You aren't mom! You aren't dad! So stop acting like you are! GET OUT!"

'Ele-"

"GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY ROOM! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Ric didn't say anything, but continued to stay seated on her bed as she started screaming and kicking him. He let her take it all out as hot tears ran down her face. When she paused to take a breath was when Ric pulled her into his arms.

At first she fought him again, but eventually ended up holding him to her, heaving heavy sobs, crying harder than she ever had in her entire life, crying so hard it physically hurt and she had trouble breathing. She barely managed to get her words out.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It's my fault! It's all my fault!"

Ric didn't bother giving her a huge speech about how she had nothing to do with it, knowing she wouldn't hear him right now anyway. Instead he just whispered soothingly in her ear, assuring her that it wasn't and that everything would be okay, he'd make sure it was all okay.

 **A/N: Obviously this chapter is super short and I was planning on making it as long as the other chapters but thought it might be better like this. This chapter is choppy, skipping from scene to scene with not much description, and I decided to write it like that, not because I was half-assing it, but because I wanted it to somewhat sound how Elena's thought process was working. Her thoughts are choppy and short and not much detail because right now she's kind of numb and not taking as much in. I also considered including Damon in the second half of this chapter but thought it would be best if it was shorter and focused entirely on Elena and her family. I plan on having the next chapter (going back to normal length) having a time jump, not a huge one, but one where everyone, except for Elena and her brothers, are over the shock of their parents dying. One last thing, the reason this chapter took a while was because I was having trouble starting it. I wanted to show what Elena was going through without being incredibly obvious or cheesy. Let me know what you think and thank you for reading!**


End file.
